Some things seem rock-solid, such as a castle contained in a landscape. Such structures could be seen to mirror a confidence in human existence and its resilience. But we shouldn’t overlook that castles have been built as architectures of war and domination, and that landscapes have been created from the wilderness. In a thousand years from now, how would one look back at the lives as we are constructing them now? Or should we reckon with the possibility of human extinction in the (not so) foreseeable future? How can we break down structures of dominion, which cause us to repeat and continue certain mechanisms and processes, such as violent political movements throughout history? And where, in the process of deconstruction, are chances located for changing the current state of the world?

With their conceptual and performative approaches, Vera Drebusch (DE) und Yiannis Pappas (GR) touch upon these thematics in their artworks. In looking to produce new pieces for this exhibition, Schloss Ringenberg inspired the artists: A castle raised in the middle ages by the Dutch on a marshland as a protecting fortress, which no longer operates according to its former function. Today the castle is used as a temporary home for artists residents while its symbolic attributes of the past, such as flags and emblems, are being preserved.